- (1)NMO Antenna mount
I'm an avid Ham radio operator, and wanted to not only use my Ham
rig on the road, but also use CB when I'm convoying with folks using
CB. The NMO style mount allows me to switch antennas as needed. Rich
installed the antenna in the rear deck, and routed the wires through one
of the two hinge conduits.
- (2)The new interior
Most of the work was done on teh interior. There is a Panasonic head unit,
EMPEG player from www.empeg.com, Bel radar detector, new boost gauge, and of
course, the Stillen center console. A word of warning. DO NOT use the
Stillen center console unit unless you're prepared to pretty much rebuild it
from scratch as we had to do. The unit is ABSOLUTE CRAP. The -only- reason
it looks this good is because of the skill of Rich's technicians, and they
honestly spent 40 some odd hours reshaping, repainting, and recovering it.
- (3)Antenna switch
This is the switch that changes the antenna feed line to the back deck from
the 'hidden' Cobra CB to a spare jack, which currently has a wire to my
Ham radio.
- (4)Door detail
The Focal speakers mounted right behind the Bose grills, and we mounted the
tweeter components high up on the door. In retrospect, the proper place for
these should have been in the small triangular area just next tot he external
mirror, (since as it is now, the tweeter plays right into the side of the dash
on the drivers side), but I'm not going to replace an entire door panel just
for that. :)
- (5)Center console closeup
The amount of work that went into this console was staggering, and a credit
to Rich's work. First, the Stillen dash console, up top, was absolute crap,
and basically ahd to be rebuilt from scratch. The 'quality' of the unit from
them was verging on criminal. Mounted in the console is the new boost gauge,
the Bel remote radar detector, and the turbo timer. In the 2 DIN sockets,
the Panasonic and the Empeg player are mounted. These DIN sockets are also
totally new, as the old shape wouldn't allow that much equipment behind the
dash. Rich's built a new cage, and manufactured several aluminum pieces
to hold the units in place. The units now don't even twitch on even the
bumpiest rides. All the way at the bottom on the right you can see the
controller for the subwoofer. It's a backlit popout button.
Of all the things done, the choice of the Panasonic as the head unit is the
only thing that gives me pause. It is out of place in the flat-black interior,
and at night this thing _GLOWS_ like spent reactor fuel. I'm going to tinker
with its settings to see if we can get it to calm down a bit, but I think the
next set of changes to the car will have us replacing that head unit with
something a little more subtle.
- (6)View from the Rear hatch
Most of the new componentry is visible here. In the center is he a/d/s amp,
which took up the entire tray space. To the left of the trunk space is the
subwoofer, which is a beautiful piece of workmanship. One important thing
to note here is the little box up at the top (front) of the rear window.
That's the rear laser detector for the Bel radar unit.
- (7)Another view of the trunk
Another view of the trunk space. The Bose grill covers are still there, but
are slightly sun-faded now, but underneath them are Boston Acoustic CX-4's,
rather than the old clunky Bose speakers.
- (8)The new front look
This is how the new console looks from the outside. The shaping is marvelous
considering what Rich's had to work with when they got it. They matched the
dashboard vinyl perfectly. One thing to note - up under the sun shade is a light
colored box - that's my Mass Turnpike Fastpass, but just the left (passenger side)
of it is the forward-facing laser detector for the Bel. The radar component is
just to the right of the license plate.
- (9)The breaker
The amp is driven right off the battery, and therefore needed its own 80amp
breaker under the hood.
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